Sometimes when I read the psalms, I expect to see an ellipsis—a break to represent the passage of time. I want some sort of indication, stronger than a semicolon, that between the first and second statement there was a change in circumstance. “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? [...time passes, circumstances change, God reveals God’s-self then the psalmist continues…] Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5). Those lines are the refrain of Psalms 42 and 43, a refrain that sometimes grates against me as do other parts of these psalms. How is it that in the midst of what St. John of the Cross has called “the dark night of the soul” does the psalmist manage to praise God? Wouldn’t it make more sense if the praising happened after? That time passed between the statements of yearning and despair and those of hope and faith?
The fact that life is troubling for the psalmist is further underscored by the question asked by the psalmist’s enemies, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42: 3, 10). Growing up such questions would have been declared “sputten,” a Dutch word for irreverent. As I read these psalms though I can’t help wondering if the enemies couldn’t also reside within the psalmist. Could the enemies be the doubts they wrestle with? There was a time in my life when that suggestion would have seemed worse than “sputten.”
Yet, I find that reading comforting. Perhaps in the midst of this difficult time in the psalmist’s life, there was a struggle between yearning for God’s presence and feeling God’s absence. Perhaps both realities were held in tension, and doubt became the expression of faith in a difficult time. In fact, a reading that allows for tension is the only one that can make sense of the way these two psalms move back and forth between seemingly contradictory emotions of despair and hope.
The psalmist’s encouragement to lean into hope is not wishful thinking based on some abstract concept but arises out of past experiences. God was faithful in the past; there is nothing to suggest God isn’t faithful in the present or won’t be in the future. The doubt, the questioning, the struggle, arise out of the context of a deep faith.
This is why it is so important to retell the stories of God’s faithfulness, to bear testimony of God’s greatness. It is even more important to tell those stories during difficult times. “These things I remember…” Such testimonies become songs in the night.
By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
—Psalm 42:8
A Litany on Psalm 42 and 43
This litany is for 2-3 readers. The texts of the psalm appear in blue and orange font. The blue text represents the questioning while the orange are statements of faith. By utilizing two readers for the psalm text, the juxtaposition between doubt and faith becomes stronger. Portions of the litany that do not come from the psalms appears in brown. Ideally this would be read by a 3rd reader but if necessary could be read by the 2nd, purple reader. The concluding text in bold should be read by all, including the congregation.
There are two spaces for silence. Do not rush these. If your context allows, invite congregants to write their responses and prayers as they reflect.
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
Song of Invitation: “Come away from Rush and Hurry” Dawn
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
Song of Faith: “Dios está aquí/God is Here Today” Mateo & Hawn
Prayer:
Holy God,
we come thirsting for you,
looking for you.
Where are you God?
Reveal yourself in our hearts.
Reveal yourself in our lives.
Reveal yourself in our world.
Listen to our wordless groans
that well up from deep in our soul.
[Silence]
Amen.
These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
“These things I remember…” The psalmist remembered past worship services where he clearly felt God’s presence and was filled with joy. Can you remember a time in the past, a particular situation where you saw God at work in your life, where you saw God’s power evident in the world, where you felt the Holy Spirit’s presence?
[Silence]
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
Song of Hope: "My Life Flows on In Endless Song" Lowry
I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
Song of Faith: “Dios está aquí/God is Here Today” Mateo & Hawn
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Vindicate me, my God,
and plead my cause
against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
deceitful and wicked.
You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Song of Faith: “Dios está aquí/God is Here Today” Mateo & Hawn